It’s the holiday season, but you would never know it at the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing.
It’s been well-documented how empty the Hamilton Mall has been, even during the holidays, with little to no bump from the usually busy shopping season. The weekend before Christmas is generally filled with last-minute shoppers, flooding shopping malls to find some last-minute deals.
Read More: Look Inside The Hamilton Mall During a Weekend During the Christmas Season
I took a drive to the Depford Mall the weekend of Dec 13, and the place was filled with shoppers, trying to find the perfect gift. This weekend, on Sunday, Dec 21, I took a drive to the Cherry Hill Mall, and you could barely move. The mall was shoulder-to-shoulder with lines everywhere, with virtually every parking spot filled with shoppers.
Meanwhile, in Mays Landing, there was an emptiness that brought sadness to the area, as the Hamilton Mall looked like a ghost town, even with Christmas Day fast approaching.
Read More: Hamilton Mall dubbed the “saddest mall in America.”
Yes, the Cherry Hill and Deptford areas have more population than Mays Landing, but the disparity in shoppers at the Mall would make it seem much larger than it actually is. Heck, even the nearby Cumberland Mall has more going on than the Hamilton Mall with a smaller population to draw from.
Why? They have better options.
It’s been well documented how empty the mall has been; stores have closed their doors, with many of the 140 storefronts sitting vacant. If you actually did go to the mall, you saw water-damaged floors from leaky roofs. Pot holes occupy more parking spots than cars, and store closed signs hang on almost every wall.
The New York-based Namdar Realty Group bought the mall back in 2019, and since then, the place has turned into a wasteland.
I hear all the time, malls are dying, and online shopping is killing the malls. What I witnessed, at least during the holiday season, at two nearby malls, seemed to suggest that if they are run correctly, malls can still serve a purpose.
The Hamilton Mall no longer serves a purpose
The Hamilton Mall just doesn’t have any reason for shoppers to go there. Many of the well-known stores that shoppers are accustomed to seeing at a mall are gone. What’s left can be purchased anywhere else in the area.
Ever go over to Consumer Square? It’s always busy; people will drive to Dick’s, Best Buy, Kohl’s, DSW, and some of the other stores that occupy that area always seem to draw a crowd.
The Macy’s Question: Will the Last Anchor Sink?
However, other than Macy’s, can anyone actually name a store that is still open at the Hamilton Mall? The question is, how much longer will Macy’s stick around?
And I am not just complaining about the mall; I did write an article offering some ideas.
Read More: 9 Stores to Help Revive the Hamilton Mall
According to an article in the Press of Atlantic City, it might not be much longer. Since Sears closed back in November of 2018 and JCPenney in 2019, the mall has struggled with Macy’s being the only big draw.
What Local Officials Are Saying About a Potential Exit
The Press of AC article, citing the community development director for the township, Robert Goodman, Macy’s could be next to move out of the Hamilton Mall.
Per the Press Article:
Goodman said it’s possible that Macy’s could leave next year because they are not doing the business that they want. A Macy’s spokesperson said they had no news on possible closing.
Comparing the Anchor Power: Deptford and Cherry Hill vs. Hamilton Mall
Depford’s anchor stores include Boscov’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, JCPenney, Macy’s, and Round 1 Entertainment. At Cherry Hill, they have a JCPenney, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and H&M, with a Dick’s House of Sport coming in 2026.
Would adding more options help? Sure.
However, the owner of the building needs to do their part, and it doesn’t seem like something they are all that interested in doing at this time.
